Wheel maintenance — “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”

Sunday, June 15

The crew and I motor over to the Juab County Fairgrounds in Nephi in order to pick up internet signal so I can make a blog post. While parked near the rodeo stands, a few campers pull out. There was a Good Sams get-together at the fairgrounds over the weekend.

In the afternoon, the crew and I hang around camp.

I wash a pair of pants and a shirt in the creek. Spike soaks in the creek. Bridget soaks up the sunshine. We walk the road for exercise. The usual stuff . . .

Later, after supper, we take the Nebo Loop Road up to 9,000 feet.

This photo is the view from Salt Creek Overlook.

Monday, June 16

Again the three of us go into Nephi to make a blog post. While we’re parked in the Wendy’s parking lot in the shade of a willow tree, a yellow bird flies at the side mirrors, apparently in love with the enchanting, yellow bird in the mirror.

The blogging done, we return to camp.

I read and putter around until four-thirty. Then I hitch up the Best Little Trailer, break camp, and the crew and I go back to town.

Tonight we camp at Harmon Tire.

First I want to take care of some necessary tasks.

Yesterday, while parked at the fairgrounds blogging, I watched a camper dump tanks and fill up with fresh water. Today we return to the fairgrounds with the BLT and do the same.

Nephi is a handy town. Now I can add free dump, water, and trash bins to the conveniences I’ve found here.

Note to self and readers: Fairgrounds=Animals and RVs=Water and Dump Station!

I let Bridget and Spike run around the fairgrounds.

No one is around. Once again I’m struck by the neatness and cleanliness of a Utah town. The fairgrounds are huge. A big rodeo is held here every summer. Large buildings and pens for stock are immaculate. No graffiti. No litter. Not even a candy wrapper or cigarette butt.

Around 7:30 we head over to Harmon Tire.

I find a level spot next to a vehicle with the Juab County Sheriff emblem on the door.

The tire shop is on a short street with a few other businesses on it. At this hour everyone has gone home for the day.

I let the crew explore their new home.

Bridget stays close by me. Spike, on the other hand, does not shirk his responsibility as protector. He makes a thorough check.

“Is everything copacetic, boy? C’mon, time to go in for the night.”

The Mt. Nebo Grocery store parking lot across the street empties. Other than a train blowing its whistle about fifteen times as it crosses town shortly after dark, the night is quiet. The interior of the BLT glows from the security lights on the shop. We have a good night’s sleep.

Tuesday, June 17

A little before eight, I back the BLT into position for her surgery. I leave Bridget and Spike in the PTV. It’s a cloudy, dark, and cold morning.

Trent doesn’t waste any time, immediately jacking up the BLT and removing her wheels.

“I replaced a Dexter axle on a trailer like this not too long ago.”

“You did? Why’d you have to do that?”

“Poor maintenance. They didn’t have the wheels greased.”

“Oh.” Gee, I’m glad this work is being done.

Trent recommends having the wheels greased every 20,000 miles.

“Most people go by year,” he says. “In your case, since your camper doesn’t sit for several months, you should go by mileage.”

“What do you think of Marathon tires?” I ask.

“Do you really want to know?” Trent replies with a touch of sarcasm.

“Yes, I do. People say bad things about them, but that doesn’t always mean anything.”

“I don’t think much of them. I put Maxxis on my trailer.” (Thanks to a reader for helping me remember the name of the tire!)

“How do the tires look to you? Are they okay?”

“Yes, they’re good.”

Trent calls a young mechanic over to replace the wheels and to put the new cover on the spare tire. He puts 60 psi in all three tires.

The spare tire has to be pulled out to release a piece of the old cover (I had to cut it off) and to insert the bottom part of the new cover.

I go inside the shop office. Trent has the bill ready for me and hands me the invoice.

“$79.13?” I remark. “That’s reasonable!”

After I pay, I invite Trent to read about himself on RVSue and her canine crew. I write my blog’s URL on a post-it note.

He smiles. “I will tonight when I go home.”

The BLT turns her newly greased wheels to take us to a new camp!

That’s the story for the next post . . .

rvsue

NOTE: “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” Do you know whose words these are? (Click the title of this post to read comments.)

My guess is that it was Michelin LT tires. Quite a few trailer owners (myself included) have gone to Michelin. For smaller wheels like I think you have Sue, some people are using Michelin P rated tires as those are what fit.

Glad you Got ‘er Done. I am also happy that I offered a good suggestion about where you could find someone to do it for you. Sometimes suggestions come back and ‘bite’ you. Thanks for the Shout Out on your blog and the kind words.

I’ll make a suggestion about tires also while I’m on a roll. When the time comes for replacements check with Big O Tires. You spend a lot of time in Big O Tire country and their warranty and service are good as well as their tires (this has been my experience).

Beware of Big O young workers. Check out every thing before you leave. They screw something up and don’t say so and you have to go back. You can get good products, ask for tires not shown etc. but sloppy work. Tear up wheels, break or damage valve stems. I still use them sometimes but check out every thing when finished.
Rocky Mtn Bob

Benjamin Franklin?
What a great town with such needed nice folk to help you with confidence on your wheels and hubs! All the necessary things a camper girl needs. I am so glad you had all these things done. The bird and sheriff’s car was icing on the cake. Little things mean a lot.
Beautiful shot of the mountains, what a view! Take care Sue and Crew!

WOW that’s a nice looking shop! Huge and clean! So what exactly did Trent mean when he said,”I don’t think much of them”.

Every time made has positive and negative reviews….as long as Trent said the tires looked good..you’re good to go! He’s the tire man. If something wasn’t right…he would have told you. 20k miles eh…maybe every couple of years (since we don’t keep track of yearly mileage) you can visit up with Trent again. Michelin would be my guess….maybe it was marathon?

Young mechanic is right! Is he old enough to drive? Hah! How neat for him to work at a place where he can learn a trade.

What do you mean Ben Franklin…..ya mean my mom didn’t make that up herself? I better google, “never skimp on food”. Jules and Mom (on the mantel) are watching a televised SFGiants game. My mom would be yelling…..because they are losing! Jules is yelling plenty for her!

Trent saying, “I don’t think much of them,” is his way of saying “I don’t think Marathons are good tires.” Darn, I wish I could remember the tires he puts on his rig. He says they’re expensive (of course they are!) and he considers them the best.

TRENT… IF YOU SEE THIS, WHAT’S THE NAME OF THE TIRES?!!!

The crew and I are traveling in an area that may or may not have internet signal. If we drop out of sight and people start to worry, remind them for me, okay? I’ll appear here whenever I can. Thanks.

Hmmm….while he had the tires off…..Ya got some of those “M” tires in my size?

YO my fellow blogorinos….hear ye hear ye….da teach may be out of range for a minute….you know what that means! Where is my partner in crime…ALAN! Crap…how can we get the shenanigans going…..on such short notice! 🙂

Safe travels!

I bet you rehab has got Ginger held hostage and won’t let her access her ipad….until she completes 1000 laps of the hallway!

Ahh, a yellow warbler they are hard to get a picture of as they are so flighty and there you had one intent on getting to know the other one in the mirror right there out the window 🙂
Nephi puts on a great rodeo, you are definitely in rodeo country it’s a high school sport in some towns round these parts as well as in Idaho, Wyoming and Montana that I know of…

WTG Trent high praise from Sue, you did good!!! 😉

Can’t wait to see your new home Sue n Crew..
Any updates about Ginger? Trust she is well on the road of recover!
T~
T~

There are alot of rodeo’s going on during the summer, if your up Oakley way they celebrate with a PRCA rodeo July 2-5th http://www.oakleycity.com/celebration-schedule.htm
There may be dispersed camping up towards mirror lake out of Kamas not real far from Oakley, or even up weber cyn out of Oakley.. Lil’ FYI..
T~

You know….I don’t think you would enjoy a rodeo…there is nothing good about it….my love of animals prevents me from enjoying rodeos and such. Animals have no choice and are forced to go out and be terrorized in these shows, many are injured and put down, they have no peace in their life only trauma and horror. I know most people feel differently, but imagine if it was you….how would you feel to be constantly scared to death?

Maybe what I’m looking for is a gymkhana. I mean those events held in rodeo arenas where people show off their horsemanship. Young people compete … ride the horse toward a barrel, go round, come back as fast as they can… That sort of thing.

You’re right. I wouldn’t enjoy animals being hurt or exploited in a negative way.

OMG never been to a Rodeo! I can recommend the Pendleton Roundup, I used to go all the time, of course I don’t know how commercial it is now but I loved it because I got to watch a Rodeo and go to a Powwow all in one visit. I can also recommend the Indian Rodeo Circuit that takes place mostly in AZ, NM and CO. They post their schedule at http://www.aircarodeo.com.

Wonderful story on today’s post, there’s nothing better than someone who takes pride in their work and offers real customer service! I smack my head about the fairground info…LOL I can’t believe I’ve forgotten about them having water, dump station etc. after all my years of horse showing at county fairgrounds. Most fairgrounds do but some don’t – easy to find out via their websites.

I have always had mine done by a local mechanic every 10k miles.Never had a problem for nearly 40 years.Last time I let Camping World do it for $99 per axle and I blew the bearings for the first time.Truck stops in small towns do the best bearing work.Forget Camping World.

p.s. My dog Juice got a clean bill of health The inch of jawbone removed healed perfectly and although it was cancer, they say there is no need for chemo or radiation.
It didn’t faze her in the least.We are taking her to the Canadian border where we own a summer lot on a lake with hookups.

several blogs back a lady ask about how you managed to hook up your camper.

here is a suggestion that will help.
simply take a one foot by two foot 2×4 and make an L out of it.
before unhooking the camper, lay the 2×4 against the left rear tire.
shortside behind the tire. leave the 2×4 there until you are ready to hook up again.
while watching the rear tire,back it in the same place and stop when the tire makes contact with short 2×4. the toung of the camper should be over the ball.
hope this will help someone just starting camping.

Oh wow thanks, I only have a tent trailer but always to hook up event with my son helping, lol left / right.. his left my right lol.. I am going to try this. Sue a great blog again, love the bird they are so funny when they see a mirror. Thanks like others can’t wait to see where you and the crew take us next. Take Care..

Sue, sure glad things are ok with the rig and seems you found an honest nice man to take care of it too!! Thanks for sharing all these things…I am sure it is helpful to others. Don’t know if we will ever get on the road, but if it happens, your blog will have so much in it to help out.

As to rodeos. I just hope whichever one you attend will be good. We have gone to quite a few in our lifetime, but not in probably 20 years now. Last one made us feel so sick, we never went again. Probably no one’s fault but a little calf when roped, it broke its neck and it died instantly. And a bull gored a clown…who had to be taken away to the hospital…think he survived. But we decided not to go anymore. I realize neither of those happen often…but it is disturbing when they do.

The Maxxis have good reviews on Fiberglass RV and I think on the FB Casita Owners page. I can’t remember what we had – they were 15 in D rated – but we never had any trouble with them in the 15,000 miles we drove our Casita. Also, the quote was a favorite of my Grandmother but I believe it was Ben Franklin who first said it.
Glad you got the maintenance stuff done. Happy Trails!

Used to go to rodeos in Houston and then realized how cruel they are-mostly to the cattle. Watching the tame stuff was ok but it wasnt worth it.
Absolutely wonderful pic of the yellow warbler!
I have been watching a woodpecker feed his young one out of our feeder all week-they are so neat.

Oh, I’ll never forget about the brake controller ever again. Having brakes fail tends to imprint the brain with a big WARNING for the future! I’m amazed how dull-headed I was that day…. I didn’t even think about the brake controller not being adjusted correctly.

Hi Sue – from
Australia..Have just come across your blog, and have gone back to begining. I am addicted and am treating it like a serial..You sure have come a long way blogging wise since then. I am up to storm-trees down-Felix still not home – caravan to pick up, so you can see I have a couple of years to catch up. Short bio ME= recently retired High School Library where i observed 37 years of teenagers. Yep what a difference over the years – married with 3 kids – 7 grandkids. You have shared so it is only fair to let you know about me. Married, Husband=John also retired. Continue on with your Road testing happiness so we can all enjoy. Tiddle-e-pop for now Leslie

Leslie from Australia! Hello and welcome to my blog! I’m pleased that you found me and my crew and that you are reading our “adventures” from the very beginning, way back when this vagabond life was a dream.

Thirty-seven years of teenagers… wow! You are one strong and resilient lady! Nice to meet you, Leslie. Regards to John. I hope you will drop in again.

Maxxis is the tire I’ve heard many times. Rob Rupp, I think that’s his name, is a Casita owner and now owns “ModYourRV.com” an online store and carries Maxxis. Might want to check his prices as well as Amazon.

Thank you so much Sue. I don’t get the comment numbers you do. I’m slowly gaining readers, other than family. Lately I’ve got a few visits from South America! Brazil, Chile, and yesterday Italy came up. I’m global!!
I do kept up with your blog and still put highlight dots on my maps of the great boondocking sites you find.

I have been trying to find a premium trailer tire made in the USA and haven’t had any luck. Most trailer tires are made in China now and I can’t figure why the US manufacturers don’t give them some competition.
I’ve heard several comments about the tires not being a quality tire. Anyone have some thoughts on the Chinese trailer tires??

The June 2013 issue of Trailer Life had a good article on trailer tires. They didn’t delve into the Chinese matter but did state “some RVers have experienced seemingly unexplained failures with ST (trailer tire designation) tires on appropriatly set-up trailers especially off-brand tires imported from overseas and sold in this country at bargain prices.”
So maybe the secret is to buy a USA brand tire even tho it may have been made in China.
They did state to use the correct pressure, to check the lifespan, store the tires properly, keep the speed down to less than 65 mph., watch the trailer alignment, balance the tires, and check the manufacturing date of the tire.

Got my axles lubed in May for $83.55 before this Utah trip. You must have batted your eye-lashes at him and received a discount.
Currently at Red Canyon campground near Bryce Canyon Nat’l Park, awesome vistas here.

Both Mark and you got good prices on lubes, the best price I have around Las Vegas is $60 per wheel.

Sue, you need to put US 89 on your bucket list for your migrations. Mark called it right when he mentioned Red Canyon. Wonderful place and a gateway to some very nice boon docking sites (look at the Tropic Reservoir area, page 82 on my Benchmark). I wouldn’t wait to late in the fall as it gets cold there @ about 7,000′. In the 45 years I have visited that area I have seen it snow every month but August. On the 4th of July one year we got 4″ of the white stuff. The ranger station in Panguitch is a great resource. Good people around there much like you described in your other posts about Utah.

Be careful, Utah might just get into your blood to the point you don’t want to leave. And Trent was slightly wrong in saying Utah has everything, no ocean, but don’t hold that against him.

I have noted 89 and will make a point of going there. That Highway 89 is a great road… That’s the road that goes through Ephraim, too.

About Utah getting in my blood and not wanting to leave. When the crew and I started our trek northward from Arizona I had no idea where we were going to spend the summer. Now it looks like this is The Summer We Do Utah!

As a native of Utah here are a couple of my observations and thoughts about the state.

If you are planning to spend the summer there you may want to head south instead of north, which sounds counter intuitive.
All the craziness up north is avoided and the folks down south are just a kinder and caring people.
The summer temps around Bryce are about the same as the Uintas, but without the hordes of weekenders from the Wasatch front. You could stay within a 60 mile radius of Panguitch and probably never get above 85 during the day all summer long. The views are varied from high desert with red rock to pine covered Alpine meadows.

You would save a bunch in gas and probably enjoy it more. Short trip to Arizona in the fall which at 7,000′ starts about mid Sept. The downside is food is expensive with just little markets for shopping.

For what it’s worth, I was born and raised in northern Utah and prowled around that part of the state for 30 years or more, but I haven’t felt at peace or to home until I started spending time down south (St. George excluded).

Great information, Steve. One of my readers — Gloria — is looking for a place to spend summers that doesn’t require a lot of gas to get there from Arizona. I suggested Utah, meaning the Dixie National Forest and places you have mentioned. One can go up and down mountains to regulate temperature. I saw a little bit of south-central and southwest Utah in 2012 when the crew and I went to Zion and camped near Virgin. After that we camped high on a mountain near Beaver. I plan to return for the reasons you mentioned.

This year I have a goal to meet up with someone in Wyoming.. . That’s why I’m pushing northward. Plus, as you mention, Panguitch and surrounds are convenient when leaving or returning to Arizona.

We put Maxxis on our Casita last year. We decided to err on the side of caution because we were getting ready to head west and we didn’t want any unpleasant surprises on a long trip. We also had the tires balanced, which we didn’t do when we picked up the Casita in May 2010 and what a difference the balancing made! We no longer stop to find stuff all over the place. Not sure why Casita doesn’t take care of that.

Copacetic – I haven’t heard that term in ages. My Mom used to use it. I used to think she made up words, but I looked it up and it’s a real word 😉

The Salt Creek view is incredible and looks nothing like the Utah I’ve seen – it is such a diverse state! Also nice that the towns are all so clean. Rodeos are one of those controversial subjects with animal-lovers on both sides of the fence. I trust you’ll find merit to both if you find yourself at one (or two). Glad Trent and his side-kick took good care of you and you’re back on the road. Good choice of parking lot companion :-).

It was a mistake to drive up to Salt Creek Overlook in the evening. It gives a closer view of snow-topped Mt. Nebo which is to the west. However, since the sun sets in the west (duh), Mt. Nebo was too shaded for a decent photograph. Morning sun on the mountain would’ve made a fabulous pic. Oh well . . .

Yeah, rodeos.. . How can one say they’ve explored the West if they’ve never been to a rodeo? I’d like to experience a rodeo at least once.

The BLT looked so helpless without her wheels on! Glad you got such a fair price from a local business. For me, they have always been a better choice than a chain. Pride in ownership when you find it is a great thing.

So glad to see you got the bearings taken care of, and I had no doubt that you would find the perfect place to get it done. I mean think about it, birds follow you and fly around you like Cinderella. 🙂

Another sign of a good garage is the fact that the local Sheriffs department goes there. No way they except substandard work. This post also answers a question that I had. 20,000 miles in 34 months equals approx. 6500 miles per year, a good number to have as I sit here playing with “dream budgets” of my own full timing future.

Speaking of dreamin’. After months of sharing your adventures, following posts on fiberglassrv.com and in general just obsessively researching eggs and life on the road. I finally got to see and sit in a fiberglass trailer for the first time last weekend!

I went to a fiberglass trailer gathering in appropriately enough Egg Harbor WI. While there I saw Scamps, U-hauls, and actually spent a few minutes in a 2010 Casita Liberty deluxe. I could see how you named yours the BLT. I asked the very nice owner if he had ever heard of your blog and to my surprise he had not but seemed very interested, so I think you have a new follower.

For me the highlight of the trip (other than to meet some very cool and knowledgeable trailer people) was to spend time in a 17ft Bigfoot which at least for now I’m thinking might be the BLT 4 me. It’s heavier and a bit wider than a Casita and would probably require a larger tow vehicle than I would like. But I’m drawn to the idea of an insulated trailer that would allow me to camp in cooler temps in the spring and fall.

As always thank you from the bottom of my heart for continuing to share your adventures of life on the road with the crew. I hope you realize that just like during your teaching career you continue to be an inspiration to others.

Thanks Sue, unfortunately I probably won’t be “pulling the trigger” on a trailer purchase for a few years. But I’m the kind of person that it helps to have a clear vision of what I’m working towards.
Like a lot of folks the recession and some other “stuff” put a real dent in my retirement plans and savings. So for the next few years the goal is to get out of debt and get rid of all the crap I realize I don’t really need to be happy.
But then again if my life had not taken those turns I never would have started to look for alternatives to a traditional retirement, I never would have developed this full timing dream and I never would have discovered your blog. So yet again I realize that there is a plan beyond my own.